EVERETT — The third defendant implicated in a violent gang drive-by shooting in south Everett already has served about half of the prison sentence a judge handed him on Thursday.
Armando Lopez, 18, of Edmonds, has been locked up in the Snohomish County Jail since June for his part in a gang-related shooting that left an Everett teen wounded.
Police believe Lopez and the others in the car were members of the violent MS-13 gang.
Lopez, a passenger in the car, pleaded guilty in August to drive-by shooting. Snohomish County Superior Court Judge George Bowden on Thursday sentenced Lopez to a little more than a year behind bars.
The teen will get credit for the eight months he’s already served in the county jail, according to court documents.
Two others already have been sent off to prison for taking part in the June 11 drive-by shooting, including Sarah Black, 30, of Everett, who was believed to be a recruiter for MS-13.
The gunfire in Everett likely was retaliation for a shooting at the Northgate Mall in Seattle in February 2008, according to court documents. An alleged MS-13 member was struck by rival gunfire in the parking lot. An Everett teen is accused of pulling the trigger in that incident.
The victim in the drive-by shooting in south Everett was with the shooter during the Seattle incident, according to court documents.
Police were told MS-13 members from California came to Everett and ordered Black to hold a meeting in her north Everett home to talk about problems with other gangs in the area, including the Seattle shooting.
About a dozen people gathered at Black’s home and planned the ambush, court records show. Prosecutors say Black sent the Everett boy, 16, a message to his MySpace account posing as “Lady Killer” and arranged a meeting to “kick it.”
Black was driving and Lopez and Ronald Gomez, 16, were in the back seat during the shooting.
Detectives believe the front-seat passenger pulled the trigger. Police haven’t found him.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.
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